The winners were: Animal Welfare Award – Ian Loughrin; Low Carbon Farming Pioneer – Patrick Black; Farming with Nature Award – Maurice and William Kells; and Farming Innovation Award – Richard Murphy.

Steve McLean, Head of Agriculture and Fisheries at M&S, said: “Every day, our Select Farmers and suppliers go to extraordinary lengths to deliver great quality M&S food, whilst demonstrating best-in-class innovation, animal welfare, sustainability and biodiversity. These awards celebrate just some of our farmers who are leading in these fields.”

Ian Loughrin, a beef farmer from Cookstown, won the Animal Welfare Award for his commitment to building a system which puts animal welfare and husbandry at the forefront. Ian has set up two state-of-the art calf rearing units for rearing young calves sourced from Linden Foods Procurement.

Steve McLean said: “M&S Select Farmers are well known as leaders in promoting the highest standards of animal welfare. Ian expertly demonstrates this through both careful investment in purpose-built housing and a commitment to always delivering best practice when it comes to calf rearing.”

Patrick Black, a poultry farmer from Ballycastle, was awarded the Low Carbon Farming Pioneer Award for his commitment to reducing his carbon footprint using renewables and participating in higher-level environmental farming schemes.

Alongside his wife and son, Patrick runs an 11,000 bird rearing unit, as well as keeping cattle, sheep and pig on their extensive hill farm. Over the past ten years to farm has invested in a hydro powered generator, solar panels, and an air source heat pump.

Patrick supplies Skea Eggs, with Dale Shaw from Skea Eggs commenting: “Patrick has been a Rearing Farmer with Skea Eggs for several years now and over this time he has made significant steps to reduce the farm’s carbon footprint. The multiple renewable energy systems on farm and large areas of land dedicated to environmental work demonstrate Patrick’s success in this endeavour.”

William and Maurice Kells, beef and sheep farmers from Portadown, have been awarded the Farming with Nature Award for their commitment to improving biodiversity on their farm. The father and son team have been rearing high-quality beef and lamb for Linden Foods for the last 40 years and are now an M&S Indicator farm, trialing new environmental work and sharing their learnings. Over the last six years Maurice and William have planted a range of broadleaf native hedges to provide wildlife habitats and shelter for the cattle and also carefully manage an ancient species-rich site on the farm.

Richard Murphy, a poultry farmer from Whitecross, scooped the Farming Innovation Award for his commitment to investing in an innovative system centred on animal welfare. Just eight months ago Richard Murphy and his wife Nicola set up a state-of-the-art 24,000 bird free range laying unit, after extensive research and planning.

Richard supplies Skea Eggs, with Dale Shaw from Skea Eggs commenting: “When setting up his new unit, Richard went above and beyond to select a system which allows him to manage bird welfare and production in the most effective way. In short time-frame Richard has already achieved a substantial amount and has already shown real stockmanship when caring for his hens.”

As well as the M&S Select Farm Awards, M&S were also pleased to announce the winners of a supply chain project run by Linden Foods and M&S for Greenmount College students where teams of four are asked to design and present a suitable food related product to sit in M&S Food. This year’s winning team were Emma Ross, Ryan Pickering, Amber Rogers and Michelle Rea, who will now visit M&S HQ in London as part of their prize.

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The alternative will see Northern Ireland’s (NI) pork industry being completely wiped out as producers cannot survive the inflation much longer, the UFU said.

UFU pork and bacon chair Glenn Cuddy said: “Over the past number of weeks and months, we’ve been engaging with all processors and retailers in a bid to get the prices paid to pig producers closer to the costs of production. Most recently, we met with Tesco who unlike the other retailers, were unable to discuss any plans they have to support our members through the most difficult period of trading ever endured. All we want is a fair price for the high-quality pork products our members produce, in a bid to sustain individual pork businesses across NI and the entire sector.

“The pressure on pig producers has been building over the past eighteen months for reasons beyond their control and supermarkets must step in. As primary producers they can’t manage soaring production costs alone, they’re about to go out of business.”

It was recently reported that Tesco profits had trebled last year, citing its “meaningful negotiating power” with their suppliers as a reason. It must not be dismissed that pig producers provide the critical foundation which the supermarket depends on.

“We urge Tesco to remember that they’ll only be able to continue exercising this ‘meaningful negotiating power’ whilst our members continue to produce pigs. The security of food supply including pork, should be at the forefront of all business decisions and one such decision that needs to be made urgently is a critically required investment to support pig producers. Tesco’s large UK market share combined with the volume of pork sales puts the supermarket in a comfortable position to do this. It will help ensure that local pork products continue to be produced to world leading standards, remaining on shop shelves for consumers,” Mr Cuddy said.

“We’re conscious of the increasing cost of living but products will remain affordable for consumers while also preventing the demise of the sector which would be a massive loss for them too. They expect and value our high-quality pork products not just now but in the future. An injection of a modest portion of financial support into the supply chain will benefit everyone, ensuring all within the agri-food supply chain comes out the other side.”

When a crisis hits, Tesco is renowned for offering help to those in need and the UFU stresses the need for support locally.

“Time is running out fast for our local pig producers and it’s extremely hard to swallow when one of the biggest retailers whom they supply has the ability to ease the pressure that they’re crumbling under but instead, continues to sit on the sidelines. Tesco needs to act immediately along with all supermarkets, taking meaningful steps toward safeguarding our local Red Tractor pork industry now and for years to come,” said Mr Cuddy. 

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The rises have left dairy farmers unable to cover their expenses and that the extra expenditure needs to be alleviated by those further up the supply chain to prevent putting milk supply at risk, the farming union says.

UFU dairy chair Mervyn Gordon says: “Retailers, as well as processors, need to be supporting farmers so they can receive a fair return from the booming dairy market which will help significantly in managing the extra expense they’re currently enduring.

“As reported by Arla, the price of liquid milk in shops (up to 2022) is seven percent lower than what it was ten years ago, despite the thriving dairy market. If the price of milk and all dairy products in stores does not rise correspondingly, come later in the year, Northern Ireland could be set to endure a milk scarcity because farmers can no longer keep up with the skyrocketing costs of producing high-quality milk. If they can’t cover the basics, how can they be expected to continue running a farm business that is supposed to support a family and home?”

UFU carried out an analysis of the retail price of liquid milk. In February 2022 the average pint of milk cost 49p (86p per litre).

By week 28 March, the average pint of milk cost 60p (£1.05 per litre) – an increase of 22 percent. Last month the average base milk at the farmgate only rose by 1.75p.

Meanwhile fertiliser prices in NI are at the top end of the global scale* with over 300 percent inflation, fuel has more than doubled with red diesel costing £1.05/litre and animal feed prices continue to hit record levels.

“When dairy products are doing well in the market with prices rising, you would normally see an increase in the amount of milk being produced off the back of it as farmers want to take advantage of improved returns. However, the eyewatering productions costs are having the opposite effect,” Mr Gordon says.

“On average, 60 percent of direct costs on a dairy farm are attributed to feed, fuel and fertiliser. What’s even more worrying, is that the full impact of cost increases is still to be felt by the dairy sector. Farmers are struggling to keep their head above water as it is and if things continue like this, their cash flow will be well into the negative in a matter of months. We need retailers and processors to get behind our dairy farmers and help protect local milk production here in NI, so they can continue producing to meet consumer demand.

“It’s long been the UFU’s position that the dairy farmer’s struggle is largely due to the way milk is priced. Farmers’ extra production costs needs to be alleviated by those further up the supply chain. Otherwise, there is every likelihood that dairy farmers will reduce output in response to unsustainable input costs,” said Mr Gordon.

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The union was welcoming the Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots’ announcement that a new support scheme worth £2million for local pig farmers is to be rolled out to address the financial losses caused by market volatility, increasing input costs and getting pigs moved off farm for slaughter.

UFU president Victor Chestnutt said the scheme is needed greatly and will help to alleviate some of the financial pressure members are currently under.

“We’ve been engaging with DAERA officials over the past number of months about the deteriorating state of the sector and are pleased that the Minister has recognised the vital need for this support. It comes at a critical time when they are on their knees experiencing a crisis like never seen before. After months of enduring low pig prices and rising input costs, the impact locally of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine has pushed them to breaking point,” he said.

“The new support scheme will help to deal with some of the losses already incurred on farm, but it’s important to stress that it will not cover the losses which our farmers continue to endure. Since the war in Ukraine, the market price of feed has soared to levels not seen before. The Northern Ireland pig industry is hanging on a knife edge. A price increase is still needed from retailers to ensure the security of the industry during this extremely difficult period.

“The NI pork industry has delivered a high-quality product, produced to world leading environmental and animal welfare standards for decades. If the sector collapses, our consumers will see a premium, local product disappearing from shop shelves, local food security will take a massive hit having a knock-on effect on rural communities and the NI economy.

“We are in dire need of retailers delivering an immediate increase in prices paid and consumers being understanding and supportive of that so that we can sustain our local pig sector. We’re all aware of how vulnerable global supplies have become, we need to be supporting local food production and helping to protect our food producers during these difficult times.”

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UFU president Victor Chestnutt said: “The world has been watching in horror as Russia’s inhumane attack on Ukraine continues, The impact of which is now rippling worldwide with global supply chains already in a highly vulnerable state. Many countries around the world, including NI, are reliant on Ukraine’s agricultural produce as well as Russia’s food and gas supplies.

“Input costs have jumped to eyewatering levels over the last number of days and are continuing to skyrocket, in particular, the price of energy and fertiliser. Farmers are in a horrendous position as they’re already trying to manage severe financial pressures, and this is now creating an increasingly difficult situation already.

“Input costs for farmers have risen to such unprecedented levels that the main worry now for consumers is not price, but availability. A rise in grain prices or a significant drop in production is certain to have huge knock-on effects for food consumers.

“Unavoidable impacts on distribution and supply will surely stretch availability to breaking point, let alone affordability. Food, fuel and fertiliser are inseparably linked and if some didn’t realise that before, they will now in the worst possible way.

“We need government and DAERA to act now to address this urgent situation. They need to put contingency plans in place and set up a task force for NI agriculture, and it’s critical that any plan is accompanied by government action to support our farmers.

“The government needs to focus their efforts on rocketing costs and availability of outputs as these are the biggest issues facing our members right now. Government also needs to look at some of their own regulations. 

“To move forward and address the situation, it would be very unwise of government to make any decisions prior to full engagement with farmers’ representatives. It’s really important that we work together and I’ve no doubt that farmers across the country, as they’ve always done at times of challenge in the past, will step up in responding to that.”

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